Beijing: Spain's Olympic basketball team will apologize for making an advertisement where players posed with slit-eye gestures in a move the International Olympic Committee deemed inappropriate.
Spanish guard Jose Calderon said on Thursday after his unbeaten squad ripped Germany 72-59 that players would say they are sorry for the ad, which appeared in Spanish sports daily Marca but has become a widely seen Internet image.
"I think we are talking about things that don't matter," Calderon said when asked about the ad after the victory. "We feel bad, but there is too much talk about it. We are a very multi-cultural country in Spain.
"We are for sure going to apologize."
The image shows smiling players standing at centre court as they pulled down the skin around their eyes to make them appear slanted.
"Clearly it was inappropriate," IOC spokeswoman Giselle Davies told reporters, saying the IOC considered the matter closed.
The advert has been condemned by international media, and comes as Spain tries to shake off a string of racist sporting incidents that could damage Madrid's bid to host the 2016 Summer Olympics.
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